Deeply Innovative: Drivers in Subsea Defense
sensing, autonomy, and communication systems to maintain domain awareness and respond to emerging threats. The companies featured in this year’s MTR100 are leaders in these areas, with innovations shaping a new era of persistent, distributed, and scalable subsea defense capabilities.Power & Energy Systems: Enabling PersistenceAs defense missions extend into deeper waters and demand longer endurance, reliable power infrastructure has become critical. Companies like SubCtech are at the forefront with rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs rated for depths up to 6,000 meters. Its modular SmartPowerBlock
New Mooring Tech Set to Unlock Vast Floating Solar-Hydro Potential
solar arrays stable and secure through every cycle. By making hybridization straightforward, it enables operators to unlock new renewable potential and deliver reliable clean enery,” Fred. Olsen 1848 said.The company said the innovation opens new opportunities for hybrid solar–hydro energy systems. By pairing solar arrays with existing hydropower dams, operators can enhance grid stability and flexibility, with solar power supplementing hydropower during bright hours or dry periods, while dams continue providing baseload power
Norway Invests in Emergency Preparedness Research
will strengthen Norway’s ability to prevent and handle serious incidents that threaten life, health, and critical infrastructure.Topics include handling hybrid threats in Norwegian sea areas, early warning systems for critical underwater infrastructure, security management for renewable energy systems, natural hazards, societal vulnerability, and citizen involvement in crisis management.The projects are financed by funds from nine ministries: the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Ministry
Future is Here: Smart Drones Take on Wave Energy Plant Upkeep (Video)
Onshore wave energy technology developer Eco Wave Power has partnered with BladeRanger, an automated drone-based cleaning and diagnostics specialist, to introduce drones for the maintenance of its wave energy systems.The collaboration was demonstrated at Eco Wave Power’s grid-connected project in Jaffa Port, Israel, where BladeRanger’s drones cleaned and inspected the floaters that convert waves into electricity.By deploying autonomous drones, the companies expect to lower operating expenses, reduce downtime and increase output, making wave power more competitive with other renewable
Subsea Cable Industry Warns of Repair Gaps in Europe’s Digital and Energy Networks
investment to enhance the repair fleet and support strategic equipment reserves; national training and workforce programs to address skills shortages and succession gaps; and urgent reform of regulatory frameworks to enable faster response times to unexpected outages.Europe’s digital and energy systems are deeply interconnected. Recent high-profile incidents in the Baltic and North Sea have increased public awareness that vulnerabilities beneath the sea are not abstract. They are a tangible and pressing strategic concern. ESCA and IMCA stress that subsea cable resilience must be treated as
MeyGen Tidal Energy Tech Sets New Operational Record
energy sector, with the vast potential across the world.Going forward, the intention is that SKF will supply the fully integrated 3MW power trains to Proteus, providing a holistic, plug-and-play solution, simplifying their supply chain efforts.Helping to redefine the capability of renewable ocean energy systems, SKF will help provide a further minimum 59 MW addition to the current 6 MW pilot array at MeyGen, with ambitions to scale significantly in line with further investment and innovation through 2025 and beyond.“For over a decade, MeyGen has been at the forefront of the tidal energy sector
Subsea Warfare Need Not Involve Target Destruction
Nord Stream gas pipelines.As defense analyst David R. Strachan points out in the May/June issue of Marine Technology Reporter: “Seabed warfare will increasingly be defined by the need to contest a dense battlespace teeming with sensor networks, communications nodes, autonomous vehicle hubs and energy systems, with a range of commercial, scientific and military assets, potentially finding themselves on a subsea strike target list.”Strachan explains the potential targets, and the weapons, and points out that a subsea strike would not require a target’s complete or even near destruction
Upscaling Power Subsea: Cables and Connectors
in systems that require greater bandwidth over longer distances, with a smaller footprint—smaller hull penetrations— for applications such as offshore oil and gas, towed arrays, side scan sonar systems, and oceanographic instrumentation. Image courtesy of BIRNS. Image courtesy BirnsTidal energy systems face similar challenges to offshore wind, with the harsh constant motion of tidal areas a key challenge. SMI recently took part in the upscaling of a tidal system in Japan led by system integrator Proteus Marine Renewables. Here the durability, longevity and reliability of the cabling system
Deep Strike: Seabed Warfare Will Target More Than Cables and Pipelines
information and energy grids are indeed critical, they represent just one target set within a rapidly evolving undersea domain. Seabed warfare will increasingly be defined by the need to contest a dense battlespace teeming with sensor networks, communications nodes, autonomous vehicle hubs, and energy systems, with a range of commercial, scientific, and military assets, potentially finding themselves on a subsea strike target list. A 2023 Hudson Institute report, “Fighting Into the Bastions: Getting Noisier to Sustain the U.S. Advantage,” goes so far as to frame the coming battle for undersea
August 2025
